Something Really Wonderful Happening At Bay Street With 'The Forgotten Woman'

By the end of the first scene of “The Forgotten Woman,” in its world premiere at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, one knew something really wonderful was happening here. You don’t have doubts when you are laughing, and you will titter through much of the first scenes—even as the story itself is dealing with deep human emotions.

Fat woman is nascent opera star; has doubts and reservations; encounters someone from her past. The reality of how we react to corpulence—even in an opera diva—and how that affects one’s life is the mast off which the story flies.

There are no fat jokes, but plenty of wit. Yet it is not all laughs, for the story gets several poignant injections of what it really means to be fat. A painful truth always may be lurking around the corner. This is powerful drama that will linger long in the mind.

Playwright Jonathan Tolins and director Noah Himmelstein—both opera buffs themselves—masterfully fleshed out the nuances of a story that is all too familiar to anyone with a physical attribute that society deems less than ideal—even when that someone has a special gift.

The center of the story is Margaret, a ”forgotten woman” of a certain size who’s shopped in a store of the same name. But Margaret discovered early on she has an incredible gift—a soaring operatic voice that led her to where she is now. It’s 2004, and she’s on the brink of a breakthrough in her career. She and her entourage are settled into an expensive hotel suite in Chicago. A lot is riding on how she does in an opening performance, a few days hence. Everyone’s tense.

Before we get to know Margaret we meet those traveling with her: an up-and-coming manager, Erick, whose future partly depends on Margaret’s success here; and her voice coach and husband, Rudolph, whose own career as a musical director is being eclipsed by Margaret’s star. Steve, a newspaper feature writer whose knowledge of opera equals zero, arrives to interview Margaret for a profile before the show goes on.

Erick and Rudolph try to coax Steve—who is more familiar with the celebrities who appear Oprah"—into writing an informed, flattering interview.

Their wit comes at Steve’s expense.

Full disclosure: As a feature writer for daily newspapers who was sometimes sent out to do stories for which I was ill equipped—such as interviewing the Rolling Stones one year and reviewing the New York City Ballet the next—let me congratulate both actor, Darren Goldstein, and writer, Mr. Tolins. Together they have the reporter’s dilemma, attitude and mannerisms down pat. Been there, done that. He takes notes, he records as well. He dresses casually, his shoes need a polish. He’s a little dense, but he’s unabashed. He will write what he wants.

As Steve, Mr. Goldstein is a far cry from the slimy character he plays on Showtime’s “The Affair,” in which the Long Island native portrays the despicable owner of Lunch/Lobster Roll Restaurant on Montauk Highway in Amagansett.

But Mr. Goldstein is working among others who elegantly capture their roles as well, for the entire cast is splendid. Mark Junek is faultless as Erick, the gay opera-star manager—he’s tall, thin, and as dapper as one would imagine. He bounces off the downbeat husband Rudolph, played by Robert Stanton with the right touch of hope and diffidence.

Together they cajole and attempt to “manage” Margaret, who can’t quite be handled. Into this collection of architypes comes Jordan (Justin Mark), the pleasant inquisitive and adorable bellman, who just might be the new intimate of Erick.

What emerges is a touching story of human insecurity, the ache of wanting something unattainable, and finally, the acceptance with grace of what one has. And making the best of it.

Perhaps Margaret’s husband only loves her for her voice, which he discovered when the lights went out one night and he couldn’t see her but could only hear her.

Perhaps she is giving up too much for her career, leaving her young daughter at home while she’s traveling about the world. Perhaps she doesn’t even want her career—maybe she would rather be a plain Mrs. somewhere, with a simpler but happier life.

Ashlie Atkinson, with acting credits from New York theater, television and film, is absolutely fabulous as Margaret, with affecting fragility as she encounters the world with artless honesty. Boffo!

Tim Mackabee’s spot-on set looks like many a high-end hotel suite. A painted backdrop with modernist figurative drawings harkening to Chagall illuminates when the stage goes dark to add visual drama. Recorded music brings in bits of real opera reminding us of the power of the form. One of the characters will throw a lagniappe to opera buffs present as he explodes with a flamboyantly extravagant—that is, operatic—response to the question: What did you think?

When the last scene ended, my eyes were damp. Maybe I was Margaret too, for aren’t we all, at one point or another in our lives? Playwright Tolins and director Himmelstein—whose credits include both theater and opera—had grabbed me by the heart and didn’t let go until two hours later.

“The Forgotten Woman” is not likely to be forgotten, and I’ll go out on a limb here—don’t be surprised if a Manhattan production with the cast intact is its next stop. Yes, it is that good.

Deciding to stage the world premiere of a new drama is a daunting task, starting with picking the play. If Scott Schwartz, the artistic director of Bay Street Theater, is responsible for selecting Jonathan Tolins’ “The Forgotten Woman” to open the theater’s 25th season, he deserves a hearty slap on the back with a resounding “Good job!”

“The Forgotten Woman” will be staged at Bay Street Theater, 1 Bay Street, Sag Harbor, through June 19 with performances Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. There will be additional matinées Wednesday, June 8, and Wednesday, June 15, at 2 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at (631) 725-9500 or visit baystreet.org.

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